Ready. Set. Food! is committed to keeping your baby safe. Most babies won’t have an allergic reaction to Ready. Set. Food!, and the few reactions that do occur tend to be mild or moderate. In fact, studies have shown that around 4-6 months of age is the safest time to introduce common allergen foods. Learn why Ready. Set. Food! is a safe way to introduce your baby to common allergens.
Many parents wonder about the safety of Ready. Set. Food!, and how safe it is to introduce babies to common allergens in general. Will your baby have an allergic reaction to Ready. Set. Food!? In most cases, the answer is no. Most babies don’t have an allergic reaction to Ready. Set. Food!, and the few reactions that do occur tend to be mild or moderate.
Introducing your baby to common allergy-causing foods (like peanut, egg, milk, tree nuts, soy, wheat, and sesame) before they turn one is crucial.
In fact, studies have shown that around 4-6 months of age is also the safest time to introduce common allergens, including the ones that Ready. Set. Food introduces. And only around 1.4% of babies will develop a food allergy reaction.
When it comes to introducing common allergen foods, earlier is safer. Today, we’ll break down what landmark research shows us about the safety of early allergen introduction.
4-6 Months of Age: The Safest Time to Introduce Allergy-Causing Foods
As a whole, it’s rare for a baby to have an allergic reaction if you introduce them to allergens before their first birthday.
A study of 3062 caregivers conducted by the Center for Food Allergy and Asthma Research found that only 1.4% of babies had any sort of allergic reaction during early peanut introduction. Most of these reactions were mild, involving only skin and gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. This highlights that early allergen introduction is very safe.
Don’t delay allergen introduction because you fear a reaction – allergic reactions are very rare in babies, and early allergen introduction helps set them up for a healthier future. The earlier you start after 4 months of age, the better.
“Early allergen introduction is inherently safe. Research has shown that there have been no fatal food allergic reactions in any babies under 1 year of age, and only around 1.4% of babies develop any allergic reactions to foods. In addition, there have been no severe reactions or hospitalizations within the many studies involving early allergen introduction, including the landmark LEAP and EAT studies. And the earlier you introduce allergens, the safer it is – and the healthier it is for your child in the long run.” – Dr. Katie Marks-Cogan, Board-Certified Allergist and Chief Allergist for Ready. Set. Food!
Studies Show: Earlier Is Safer For Introducing Common Allergy-Causing Foods
Research from Dr. Jonathan Spergel (Head of Allergy at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and one of our medical advisors) and others shows that before your baby turns 1 is the safest time to feed them common allergen foods.
This is because severe food allergic reactions are least common in babies under the age of 1, and the likelihood of a severe reaction increases as your child gets older. So, if your baby does have a food allergic reaction, it’s much more likely to be mild.
Dr. Spergel and others examined food allergic reactions in age groups ranging from infants to teens, to determine how common severe allergic reactions were for each age group.
- Severe allergic reactions either required an EpiPen, or involved significant cardiovascular or lower respiratory symptoms.
The researchers found that:
Severe allergic reactions are the least common in infants under age 1.
- The older a child was, the greater the chances that they would develop a severe reaction.
- Food allergies did not cause any deaths in infants under the age of 1.
- Only 3% of allergic reactions in infants resulted in cardiovascular or lower respiratory symptoms – significantly fewer severe reactions than in older children.
- Also, infants and toddlers had fewer reactions that required an EpiPen, compared to older age groups.
Three Landmark Clinical Studies: No Severe Reactions In Over 2,000 Babies
The landmark LEAP, EAT and PETIT studies have shown that introducing your baby to common food allergens (peanut, egg, and milk) is important.
Collectively, these three studies involved over 2,000 babies between the ages of 4-11 months. Across all three of the studies, none of the babies developed a severe reaction – further evidence that it’s safe to feed your baby common allergens.
The studies also showed that earlier is better when it comes to introducing common allergen foods. Based on their results, we now know that around 4-6 months of age, babies enter a critical window of time where introducing foods like peanut, egg, and milk helps them build up a tolerance.
Although the babies in the studies ranged in age from 4-11 months, some older enrolled babies had to be excluded from the studies because they had likely already developed a food allergy.
- Around 9% of the babies enrolled in the LEAP study had to be excluded from the study because they likely already had a peanut allergy before the study began. (So, they weren’t introduced to peanut early enough to build up a tolerance). This further emphasizes the need to start allergen introduction early – the earlier the better.
Based on the studies, 4-6 months of age is the safest time to introduce common allergen foods.
LEAP And EAT Authors Affirm: Earlier Is Safer For Introducing Allergens
Plus, the earlier you introduce allergens, the safer it is for your little one. The longer you wait, the more likely they are to have a reaction to an allergen.
Sensitization – the immune system's response to a food without any clinical symptoms of a food allergy – starts early and develops quickly during infancy. (Sensitization doesn’t always mean that someone will develop an allergy, but someone has to be sensitized before they develop an allergy.)
According to a 2023 analysis by the authors of the landmark LEAP and EAT studies, the earlier you introduce allergens, the more likely your baby will be able to safely eat these foods later in life – and the less likely they are to have a reaction.
Introducing peanuts to all infants at four months old reduced the risk of peanut allergies better than introducing peanuts at four months old only for babies at high risk for peanut allergy and six months old for babies at low risk.
Both of these options led to fewer peanut allergies overall, and thus fewer allergic reactions, versus waiting to introduce low-risk babies to peanuts until after their first birthday.
Introducing Allergens Safely with Ready. Set. Food!
Ready. Set. Food! is safe because we introduce very small amounts of allergens, and gradually build up your baby's tolerance. We follow a similar process as was used in the three landmark clinical trials where over 2,000 babies participated and no severe reactions occurred. These same landmark clinical trials (LEAP, EAT and PETIT) heavily influenced the groundbreaking medical guidelines and their recommendations for early allergen introduction. (Learn more about how we maximize safety here.)
Although early allergen introduction is safe, a small percentage of babies (around 1.4%) are expected to have an allergic reaction to Ready. Set. Food!. Still, when reactions have occurred, they tend to be mild or moderate, and have not been severe. This is consistent with research findings that show under age 1 is the safest time to introduce common allergen foods.
As the landmark research we covered above has shown:
- There has never been a fatal food allergic reaction in a baby under 1 year of age.
- Only 1.4% of babies had any sort of allergic reaction during early peanut introduction.
- In more than 20 clinical trials involving over 14,000 babies, there were no severe reactions or hospitalizations.
- Allergic reactions in babies are less severe than in older children and in adults.
- Under the age of 1 is the safest time to introduce common allergen foods, as reactions are mildest at this age.
- The longer you wait to introduce common allergen foods, the more likely your child is to have a reaction at all.
- The longer you wait to introduce common allergen foods, the worse a potential allergic reaction could get.
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All health-related content on this website is for informational purposes only and does not create a doctor-patient relationship. Always seek the advice of your own pediatrician in connection with any questions regarding your baby’s health.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If your infant has severe eczema, check with your infant’s healthcare provider before feeding foods containing ground peanuts.